[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64950-64951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26125]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. chapter 35).
Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
Title: 2013 National Census Contact Test.
OMB Control Number: None.
Form Number(s): None
Type of Request: New collection.
Burden Hours: 4,667.
Number of Respondents: 40,000.
Average Hours per Response: 7 minutes.
Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau is committed to using
alternative approaches for contacting potential respondents, such as
cell phones, landlines, text messages and emails in an effort to reduce
costs by increasing self-response. However, developing and implementing
successful and secure contact and response strategies during the 2020
Census requires research throughout the next decade. The Census Bureau
must conduct a series of research projects and tests to fulfill its
commitment to provide the public with an option to complete their 2020
Decennial Census questionnaire using these alternate contact strategies
through a self-response test.
The 2013 National Census Contact Test (NCCT), formerly named the
2013 Alternative Contact Strategy Test, supports this alternate contact
research. The 2013 NCCT will be conducted over the telephone, using a
Computer Assisted Telephone Instrument (CATI) with approximately 40,000
households between January 7, 2013, and February 1, 2013. These
interviews will enable Census staff to assess the quality of the data
from vendor files that are under consideration for use in the
construction of an Alternate Contact Frame. The 2013 NCCT questionnaire
will ask respondents for basic demographic information collected in a
Census. Demographic information includes questions such as household
roster, age, race, Hispanic origin, relationship, and sex. The
questionnaire also takes the approach of requesting email addresses and
telephone numbers from the respondents. Afterward, the respondent-
provided address, phone numbers, and email addresses will be matched to
the vendor data being evaluated as well as to the Master Address File
(MAF). In addition, the NCCT provides an opportunity for the Census
Bureau to test potential enhancements to its automated processing of
responses
[[Page 64951]]
lacking a pre-assigned Census Identification number. ``Non-ID
Processing,'' as it is known within the Census Bureau, compares
respondent addresses to the MAF, which is a national inventory of
living quarters addresses compiled and maintained by the Census Bureau.
In the case of a non-match, Non-ID processing includes the assignment
of geographic codes to the respondent address, which enables a record
to be tabulated to the correct geographic area (e.g. State,
Congressional District, County, Census tract, etc.). Finally, the
interview contains a question intended to gauge respondents' attitudes
regarding the collection of Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinate
data from a respondent's mobile device, such as cellular phone or
tablet, made available through technology referred to as ``location
based services.''
The Census Bureau designed the 2013 National Census Contact Test to
inform the 2020 Census testing and planning design. The intent is to
research and validate the quality of the administrative records files,
which contain alternate contact data to connect with individuals and
households, such as email addresses and cell phone numbers, as well as
evaluate enhancements to the Census Bureau's process for matching and
geocoding Non-ID'd responses. Additionally, responses to the final
interview question (regarding collection of respondent coordinate
location) will be compiled and provide some indication of public
attitude regarding the use of location-based services on mobile devices
to derive a respondent's location.
The results from the 2013 NCCT will influence internal Census
Bureau planning decisions that will guide the design of additional 2020
Decennial Census testing later this decade. By testing in 2013, we aim
to establish a baseline approach for multi-mode testing. Testing
enhancements to Non-ID processing early in the decade will inform early
planning for the 2020 Census design, as well as the infrastructure
required to support large-scale processing of electronic Non-ID
response data submitted via the Internet or a Census-provided
questionnaire application designed for mobile devices.
The Census Bureau plans to make the aggregated results of this
study available to the public. Data from the research will be included
in reports with clear statements about the limitations and that the
data were produced for strategic and tactical decision-making and
exploratory research and not for official estimates. Research results
may be prepared for presentation at professional meetings or in
publications in professional journals to promote discussion between the
larger survey and statistical community, and to encourage further
research and refinement.
Affected Public: Individuals or households.
Frequency: One time.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Title 13 United States Code, Sections 141 and 193.
OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance
Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at
[email protected]).
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245)
or email ([email protected]).
Dated: October 18, 2012.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-26125 Filed 10-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P